Ryan Garcia dominates Mario Barrios to win WBC welterweight title — ryan garcia drops Barrios in first 30 seconds
ryan garcia dominated Mario Barrios in Las Vegas to capture the WBC welterweight championship, scoring an early knockdown and cruising to a wide unanimous decision. The win immediately renewed talk of a showdown with Shakur Stevenson, who watched from the arena as Garcia issued a public challenge.
First-round knockdown and wide judges' margins
Garcia floored Mario Barrios with an overhand right roughly 30 seconds into the opening round, then paced the fight rather than hunting an early finish. The judges delivered emphatic scorecards of 119-108, 120-107 and 118-109 as Garcia claimed the title. Observers saw him pick spots and mix combinations—one sequence late in the third round briefly staggered Barrios.
Ryan Garcia calls out Shakur Stevenson at T-Mobile Arena
After the final bell, Garcia pointed to Shakur Stevenson in the crowd and said, "You know who I want. He's right there. Shakur Stevenson. Let's go. Let's run that. " Stevenson, who became a four-division world champion when he beat Teofimo Lopez by unanimous decision in January, sat at T-Mobile Arena and reacted by smiling, nodding and clapping. When Garcia was told Stevenson had said he was "levels above" him, Garcia replied that a fighter needs punching power to change the matchup and added that he was not going to hit any opponent lightly.
Records, titles and the path to the belt
The victory improved Garcia's record to 25-2 with 20 knockouts, and it handed Barrios a defeat that dropped his mark to 29-3-2 with 18 KOs. For Barrios, the loss followed a majority draw against Manny Pacquiao last July; Pacquiao was 46 at the time. Barrios had been upgraded from interim to full WBC champion in June 2024 and had retained the title twice draws prior to this defeat.
Middle rounds: pressure, a fifth-round surge and late-round signals
Garcia pressed decisively in the fifth round, attacking from the opening bell and landing multiple shots to Barrios' head, although those flurries did not send Barrios to the canvas. At the start of the 10th round Garcia looked over toward Barrios' corner, a gesture observers interpreted as a message to Barrios' former trainer Joe Goosen. Henry Garcia, the fighter's father, had returned as Garcia's trainer after his son worked under other coaches; late in the fight Ryan shifted to a more conservative approach, likely aware of the wide lead on the scorecards.
Post-fight notes: injuries, dedications and recent controversies
Garcia said he hurt his right hand during the fight and dedicated the victory to his father, handing the belt to his dad, who serves as his head coach. The result was also notable because Garcia had been suspended for a year and fined $1m by the New York State Athletic Commission over allegations of performance-enhancing drugs tied to a win over Devin Haney in April 2024; his victory over Haney was later recorded as a no contest after a failed drugs test. The WBC expelled Garcia for a few months for using racial and ethnic slurs, and Garcia has had other legal issues. This Las Vegas outing was his first fight since a unanimous-decision loss to Rolando Romero in Times Square, New York, in May 2025.
Undercard and co-main chaos: Russell retains, Hitchins pulls out ill
On the same card Gary Antuanne Russell (19-1, 17 KOs) retained his WBA super lightweight title with a unanimous decision over Japan's Andy Hiraoka (24-1, 19 KOs). A scheduled defense by Richardson Hitchins (20-0, 8 KOs) of his IBF super lightweight belt against Oscar Duarte (30-2-1, 23 KOs) of Mexico was cancelled when Hitchins pulled out citing an illness; that bout had been slated as the co-main event and there was no immediate word on whether Hitchins would forfeit his title.
